It is important to protect vegetables from the cold which is predicted for the next few nights. Frost is forecast, and it looks as though we will have some seriously cold temperatures over the next few nights.

Young seedlings are tender, and vulnerable to the frost. At worst, they will be killed. Otherwise the frost will damage their cells, slow down their growth, and reduce their potential. Frosted vegetable plants will not yield so much.
Return on effort is one of TopVeg’s guiding principles - so do not allow the frost to affect potential yield, & reduce the return on all the effort put in so far.

Protect the plants from the cold temperatures by covering them over. This will produce a micro-climate beneath the covering, which will maintain a higher temperature than that outside. This is known as micro-climate ameliorization. It means that you are creating a better climate for the plant, in it’s own little world under the covering.

To create this micro-climate, cover the plant with any of the following:

• polythene sheets

• horticultural fleece
• or similar light materials
• in Switzerland they use conifer branches, which are placed over the plants to produce warm air pockets protected from the frost
• glass
• net curtains
• heaps of leaves

Some gardeners fill coke bottles with very hot water and leave them between the rows of vegetables. This helps to keep the cold air off during the night.

Protecting vegetables over the next few nights when frost is forecast will pay dividends.